House builders, ground workers and contractors are seeking clarity when it comes to the design, planning and installation of foul water & surface water sewer systems. Four years in the planning and driven by the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, mandatory ‘adoption’ and new standards for all (new and existing) foul water sewers originally planned for implementation from April 2014 has now been indefinitely postponed by the Government for even more talks on the detail. Terry Hill, Technical Support Manager at specialist water management company JDP says: “The outcome of all of this is that we are designing and constructing sewers in England, Wales and Scotland to different legislation and standards. Without the right advice this is a nightmare for house builders and contractors. “At JDP our dedicated technical design team is fully briefed on all current legislation and has the expert design, advice and support for all projects involving Surface Water & Foul Water Management systems. This helps developers and contractors find their way through the legislative minefield, achieving mandatory compliance and avoiding time delays or associated increased project costs.” Axedo inspection chambers: The Axedo 600 chamber is designed to be installed at depths of up to 6m and comprises a base unit available in various channel configurations, with shaft, sealing ring and restrictor cap. The shaft is finished at ground level with a cover slab and cover also available from JDP. The base unit is available with 150 mm, 225 mm, 300mm or 375 mm connections to all main UK pipe systems including Adoptable Sewer, HDPE Twin wall and Clay. Other pipe systems and sizes can be accommodated with the use of adaptors or inlet reducers. Flexibility to adapt to site conditions is provided with integrated deflection sockets to accommodate angular movement. Delivering savings and safety on site: Axedo inspection chambers are light weight, reducing the need for mechanical tools and offering savings of up to 50% in time and material costs. Traditional use of concrete chambers will require a larger excavation and heavy plant, leading to increased cost and time on site. One of the key drainage issues, which must always be considered by contractors is that of the health and safety of employees and operatives. In order to meet the challenge of enabling house builders to comply with the legislative requirements of the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 and provide greater health & safety protection for their employees, the Axedo range was introduced into the UK by JDP. The solution for compliance across regional boundaries: When designing and constructing sewers in England, Wales and Scotland, the Axedo range enables contractors to be fully compliant with the different legislative requirements and with the latest Sewers for Adoption 7th Edition (SfA 7). Leak-tightness: The leak-tightness of drainage structures is a major requirement for the design and construction of the systems, the objective being to prevent the pollution of soils and water tables and the infiltration of clean water which might disturb purification systems. Axedo inspection chambers have the same tightness qualities as plastic drainage pipes. The polypropylene used to build Axedo inspection chambers is effective against attacks externally from aggressive soils and internally from the fluids conveyed, in particular hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and sulphuric acid (H2SO4) which may be given off by the effluent.
